One Crazy Summer Chapter 17 Summary

China Who

  • Today is sponge painting day at the Center.
  • Delphine gets picked, along with Eunice and Hirohito, to help get some things ready.
  • Hirohito is puzzling to Delphine. He has slanted eyes and straight black hair, but she knows he also has black heritage.
  • She makes a big deal about the fact that he's Asian and black and doesn't know what to make of it. Delphine also wonders what it's like to be him.
  • Hirohito catches her staring at him and she is super embarrassed, which she handles by getting him into a schoolyard argument. Nothing like some good old-fashioned tween flirting, right?
  • But then things get serious: Delphine calls him "China boy," which rubs him the wrong way (and rightfully so).
  • Hirohito is black and Japanese.
  • That's when Eunice stands up and makes sure Delphine is made aware of her big-time ignorance. It's the perfect opportunity to put down her rival.
  • Sadly, she also hints that Hirohito has a sad past. If Delphine knew about it, she says, she would just leave him alone. Oh, man.